Courses Taught by Briana Mezuk

EPID679 Epidemiology of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders

Description: Introduces the epidemiology of psychiatric and substance use disorders. Addresses conceptual and methodological considerations in psychiatric research, descriptive and analytic epidemiology of common psychiatric and substance use disorders, and issues of classification and measurement for epidemiologic research. Students analyze epidemiologic data pertaining to psychiatric and substance use disorders.

Course Goals: The goal of this class is to learn the epidemiology for major psychiatric and substance use disorders over the life course, and to apply epidemiologic principles and methods to understand the predictors and consequences of psychiatric and substance use disorders.

Competencies: 1. Identify and describe population patterns of health-related risk factors and health-related outcomes in terms of person, place and time.
2. Be familiar with the current major public health issues and be able to identify and evaluate the determinants of these public health issues (e.g. demographic, pathophysiological, genetic, environmental, infectious, behavioral, and social).
3. Know the different epidemiologic study designs including the relative strengths and weaknesses of each, and be able to propose an appropriate design strategy when presented with a research question.
4. Demonstrate effective communication of epidemiologic findings in written and oral formats.
5. Be exposed to published epidemiologic studies and be able to critically appraise epidemiological findings.

Learning Objectives: Upon completing this course students will be able to:
• Describe the epidemiology of the major psychiatric and substance use disorders of childhood, adulthood, and late adulthood
• Understand epidemiologic methods used to assess psychiatric and substance use disorders in the community
• Demonstrate the ability to critically assess epidemiologic data and scientific articles pertaining to psychiatric and substance use disorders
• Demonstrate ability to obtain and analyze various epidemiologic data sources with information pertaining to psychiatric and substance use disorders
• Prepare a scientific paper pertaining to epidemiology of psychiatric or substance use disorders
• Improve public communication skills through class presentations and discussions